103 replies to this topic

[arttidesco]

Last weekend I took up Tim Murrays invitation to visit Castle Combe where the Bristol Pegasus Motor Club, of which Tim is Secretary, were organising a track day.

What particularly caught my attention were a half a dozen custom cars.

When I was living in a cloud of glue Humbrol paint and and thinners as a lad I remember making a custom MK1 Escort fitting it with a 427 Ford V8, a 917 gearbox and rear suspension (to optimise the weight distribution) and setting the whole thing of on 917 slicks and wheels.

When it came to real motor cars I just about managed to race prepare a 2CV with out seriously injuring myself so I stopped well short of trying to customise my own Renault 6 or Volvo 144's, though I did once do a swap of Volvo 244 engines and gearbox but unfortunately had to flog the nice alloy's of the donor car to stay solvent.

So it was a pleasure to catch up with some proper custom cars, hot rods and their dedicated owners last weekend.



Among the vehicles on display and driven for a couple of demonstration laps was this late 40's early 50's Austin A40.



Slightly more radical was this chopped down two door version.









Representing UK Fords were these three 2 door Popular's



and taking my paint job of the day award this cut down Thames panel van



complete with painted number plate and an NOS bottle to boost the power of what ever was lurking under the bonnet.






Representing Ford USA we had these two coupes



the latter demonstrating a hefty investment in it's power supply.



Representing the bow ties was this humongous late 1949 Chevrolet Advanced Design



with a 3100 model badge meaning this was the 1/2 ton variant.



The owner has sensibly left the paint work alone making the low rider stand out from it's glossy siblings.



Favourite car of the day for me was this Rhubarb and Custard 1958 A55 with subtle tell tale twin exhaust pipes,



an equally subtle V8 bonnet badge,



telling of the 3.5 litre MGV8 motor in the engine bay !

The owner was telling me that the front panels were so rusty that he had to replace them with panels from a 1970 A55 and the whole project took around ten years to complete alongside all his work and family commitments.



Finally I'll leave you with a vehicle I know nothing about except I inherited a Corgi or more likely Dinky toy one of these from my old man which dates it to the late '30's early 40's.



First thought it was a Buick



and second a Humber neither of which appears to be correct can anyone at TNF help me out ?

Thanking you in anticipation of your responses.

[garyfrogeye]

Ah,

Brings back boyhood memories of Custom car magazine and the scantily clad ladies on the cover and within.
There was an old Rover called Moulan Rouge (sp?) which I lusted after (in addition to the scantily clad ladies that is).

[Bob Riebe]

SWEEEEEET!

[simon drabble]

I recall the same magazine and back in the day my brother won a design competition (he was William Towns' model maker/gofer at the time) with an artisits impression for a low drag Allegro!!
Totally agree about the A55 van - I have a very guilty pleasure for them (and Bedford CA vans!) did you manage to get any internal shots of it?

Edited by simon drabble, 18 August 2010 - 06:55.

[eldougo]

[quote name='arttidesco' date='Aug 18 2010, 00:31' post='4544198']

Sounds like a great day out,these are my two favorites....

[wenoopy]

Your Non-Buick/Non-Humber puts me in mind of something from Austin, either late pre-war or late 40's (possibly on steroids). It's hard to get an idea of scale from the photo, and rear end shape is quite "generic" for British cars of the period. Not necessarily one of the better periods in the time-line of British car design. Could even be a Morris 8 Series 'E'.

[arttidesco]

I recall the same magazine and back in the day my brother won a design competition (he was William Towns' model maker/gofer at the time) with an artisits impression for a low drag Allegro!!
Totally agree about the A55 van - I have a very guilty pleasure for them (and Bedford CA vans!) did you manage to get any internal shots of it?

Any pics of the low drag Allegro sounds fascinating ?

Afraid I did not get any pics of the inside of the A55 it was a tad dark, with it being a van and having the cool sunshade over the front screen, but here are a couple of interiors I did get



from the Blue Ford Coupe



and the Chevrolet Advanced Design 3100.

[arttidesco]

Your Non-Buick/Non-Humber puts me in mind of something from Austin, either late pre-war or late 40's (possibly on steroids). It's hard to get an idea of scale from the photo, and rear end shape is quite "generic" for British cars of the period. Not necessarily one of the better periods in the time-line of British car design. Could even be a Morris 8 Series 'E'.

Thanks 'wenoopy' I think we can discount the Morris 8 Series 'E' but I believe your spot on with the Austin an Austin 10 infact has the same grill / lights and suicide doors and rear end

Slightly OT I noticed that the pick up version of the Austin A10 bears a striking resemblance to the front end of the 1940 Chevrolet pickup does anyone know of any connection between the two ?

[Lee Nicolle]

I think your Buick/Humber is an Austin 16 with a Ford Cleveland engine painted Austin green!

[arttidesco]

Thanks Lee

Can anyone enlighten me on the differences between an Austin 10 and an Austin 16 ?

To my untrained eye they look identical ?

Thanking you in anticipation :-)

[Ray Bell]

I have to confess that I was once keen on hot-rods and customs...

When I first started work I began buying the US publication, Hot Rod Magazine, and devouring its pages. I even bought a model to build up, a car called the Green Hornet. But a few months later I found Sports Car Graphic and Road & Track in the newsagents and they tended to be more interesting.

I kept on buying HRM for a few years, but I couldn't really see the sense in drag racing compared to road racing and it all left me.

I will still have a close look at the cars, however. I just wish the formulaic approach of so many rodders wasn't so common... small block Chevs in abundance and that sort of thing.

We have a race car preparation place down the end of our road which seems to concentrate on various Mazda Rotary-powered cars... and their car trailer is hauled around by a Ford Prefect with some kind of oversize power unit installed.

Edited by Ray Bell, 18 August 2010 - 12:25.

[arttidesco]

I just wish the formulaic approach of so many rodders wasn't so common... small block Chevs in abundance and that sort of thing.

I imagine that is a hangover in part from the fact that rods and customs traditionally originated in a country that had straight roads and hence absolutely no handling requirement other than to be able to make the 90 degree turn and in part from the expense and availability of easily tuned small block motors.

The Japanese equivalent of Roding and Customs seems to be drifting where the vehicles are constantly being driven on opposite lock.

I guess racing falls in between these extremes.

[Ray Bell]

I think you missed my point...

It's the preponderance of small block Chevs that irks me. Just as it would have irked me in the early fifties seeing all those side valve Ford V8s in everything when some very good alternatives existed.

There's not a huge gulf between some hot-rodding attitudes and the cars that commonly raced here in the period, by the way. At one time there were no fewer than four Ford V8 engines in the first three places in an Australian Grand Prix, after all, and the number of Ford V8 Specials on our circuits was huge.

As the Specials era was drawing to a close, the SBC was coming into play. Even an early Cooper ex-F2 car got one jammed into the back of it.

If I was building a hot-rod, I might well be tempted to use a hemi-headed 2.5-litre V8 that was in production in the late sixties. It would be very different to everything around, and I think that's one of the things that hot-rods should be aiming for - a unique appearance.

Bet you can't guess which engine I mean...

[David Shaw]

I too was entranced by Hot Rods in my youth, being a big fan of the Australian magazine, Custom Rodder.

I agree that all to often the soft route of a Small Block Chev is used, but I have seen enough ingenuity to keep faith that individuality exists. I took my sones to the Melbourne Hot Rod Show in 2009 and there was a rod in there with a GM Twin Six.

Very impressive.

[arttidesco]

Ok I see what your saying now Ray I had no idea the Chevrolet small block was the motor of choice again I suspect down to availability when Chevrolet was the worlds biggest manufacturer.

I have no idea what hemi head 2,5 litre V8 motors are available in AUS, it won't be the Clisby, V6 and too small, I remember the Leyland P76 had a V8 on the World Cup Rally in 1974 no idea how big it was, could it be a Leyland V8 from the P76 ?

Do they do Dodges in AUS they had some pretty hefty Hemi V8's do not remember anything smaller than about 5 litres though ?

[ray b]

Daimler SP-250

http://en.wikipedia....i/Daimler_SP250

[ray b]

but you are not limited to an old ford with a chevy V8 swaped into it

modern hot rods can handle
from kit cobras to repro can-am cars
one of the most engine swapped cars is the Pontiac fiero
a long list of other GM motors have been swapped in to them
V8's inc the chevy V8 both mouse and lt and ls versions
caddy monster big blocks to 4.9/4.5 push rods to northstar DOHC V8's
the older buick alloy motors and their BMC later versions
even a ford SHO yamaha V8
almost every GM v6 ever made inc GMX/typhoon turbos and 3800sc
and most of the 4 bangers tooo inc ecotec DOHC turbo's

[David Shaw]

I had considered that Ray Bell was referring to the SP 250 engine, but that was early rather than late 60s.

[arttidesco]

I have a friend in the States with a 250 SP, had not thought of it in a Custom application before, but so far as I know they are quite rare, and probably not really catered for in the after market, probably best left for 250 SP restorations IMHO :-)

[D-Type]

Does a Stag with a Rover engine and gearbox transplant count?

[Frank S]

Coincidentally, I was at a car show this past Saturday, where (in my view) one of the stars was a Chevrolet 3100 pickup in a luscious green - one of those looks-black-until-you-find-the-good-angle paints.

[Simpson RX1]

I have a friend in the States with a 250 SP, had not thought of it in a Custom application before, but so far as I know they are quite rare, and probably not really catered for in the after market, probably best left for 250 SP restorations IMHO :-)

I seem to remember there were quite a few Daimler V8 engined rods, back in the day (I too was an avid CC reader, along with Street Machine, which I bought, every month, from the first issue in 1981, through to the mid 90s) and, IIRC, there was a well known pioneer British drag racer that persevered with the Daimler Hemi for years.

Incidentally, that A55 van looks very much like the one that was featured in Practical Classics a couple of months ago, as part of their 'Reader's Rebuilds' strand.

Does a Stag with a Rover engine and gearbox transplant count?

Nah, that's way too easy, no self respecting custom car builder would bother with something so straightforward

On the other hand, the car that appeared in the Stag OC magazine recently, was a work of art, complete with what looked like a factory fitted Lexus V8.

[Simpson RX1]

Ah,

Brings back boyhood memories of Custom car magazine and the scantily clad ladies on the cover and within.
There was an old Rover called Moulan Rouge (sp?) which I lusted after (in addition to the scantily clad ladies that is).

Sorry for double posting, but I missed this post, although it does tie in...............

Moulin Rouge was a 1935 Hillman, with....................................a Daimler V8 under the bonnet.

I read somewhere it was due to reappear soon, after extensive restoration.

[Lee Nicolle]

Ok I see what your saying now Ray I had no idea the Chevrolet small block was the motor of choice again I suspect down to availability when Chevrolet was the worlds biggest manufacturer.

I have no idea what hemi head 2,5 litre V8 motors are available in AUS, it won't be the Clisby, V6 and too small, I remember the Leyland P76 had a V8 on the World Cup Rally in 1974 no idea how big it was, could it be a Leyland V8 from the P76 ?

Do they do Dodges in AUS they had some pretty hefty Hemi V8's do not remember anything smaller than about 5 litres though ?

The P76 engine was a 4.4 litre version of the Buick/Olds GM alloy V8. The big brother of the 3500 used in Range rovers and the like.
Not a great motor, particularly these days. The reason most hotrods use SBC and Ford engines is that they are readily advailable, strong and there is tons of performance gear for them. Hotrodders though do not nesecarily chase power though, it is the 'look' hence you often see big blowers and tunnel ram set up on gunker engines which whine and go grump grump with big cams and straight cut timing gear drives.

I see a few 'different' engines including Toyota V8s, 60s Buicks, The common in Oz Holden V8s as well as side valves, Y block Fords plus things like Holden 6s both straight sixes and Commodore V6 [Buick]. The ratrod scene seems to use some older stuff, sidevalves, Buick v8s, Pontiacs, Y block as well as Chevs and Windsors. The most common engine though is Chev and Ford Windsor and Clevelands [which were sold in Aussie Fords from 70 to 82]


A lot of hotrods are good for straight, very smooth roads only though others can and do handle ok using well engineered chassis and suspension set up. Not generally super sporty but will drive through the hills as well as most modern road cars and be a lot more interesting and distinctive.
Even beam axle fad buckets can drive ok. the ones that have a decent size front tyre and the front axle not bound up like some can drive ok, particularly with a decent rear suspension set up. Out on cruises I have seen very bad and quite good versions of these cars.Though I have no wish to own one! Full body rods maybe.

In Oz there is quite a few Mopar/Dodge engines from the 50s and 60s and a lot find there way into rods, particularly hemis! Mopar engines come in all designs and capacities, can be mind boggling though we had a smaller range in Australian delivered cars.

I am involved in American cruises which includes Hotrods and Harleys and there is a fair amount of Mopar muscle and heavyweights involved in those events.

[arttidesco]

Coincidentally, I was at a car show this past Saturday, where (in my view) one of the stars was a Chevrolet 3100 pickup in a luscious green - one of those looks-black-until-you-find-the-good-angle paints.

I thought 'my' Chevrolet Advanced Designed looked pretty cool unpainted 'yours' glammed up to the nines looks stupendous Frank

[Bob Riebe]

I imagine that is a hangover in part from the fact that rods and customs traditionally originated in a country that had straight roads and hence absolutely no handling requirement other than to be able to make the 90 degree turn and in part from the expense and availability of easily tuned small block motors.

The Japanese equivalent of Roding and Customs seems to be drifting where the vehicles are constantly being driven on opposite lock.

I guess racing falls in between these extremes.

Hot Rods as such were the first performance cars but had a connection to dry lake or salt flats racing which had a conncection to drag racing.
At the same time hot-rods were street cars.
Take a look at hot-rodding pre-small block Chevy and you see it had many makes involved but most for the fewest bucks has always dominated.

Certain big name Brits were well know for top speed runs long before any road racing Brits were.

If you think all roads here were straight--- or even the majority--- well you were not raised here.

[Bob Riebe]

I think you missed my point...

It's the preponderance of small block Chevs that irks me. Just as it would have irked me in the early fifties seeing all those side valve Ford V8s in everything when some very good alternatives existed.

There's not a huge gulf between some hot-rodding attitudes and the cars that commonly raced here in the period, by the way. At one time there were no fewer than four Ford V8 engines in the first three places in an Australian Grand Prix, after all, and the number of Ford V8 Specials on our circuits was huge.

As the Specials era was drawing to a close, the SBC was coming into play. Even an early Cooper ex-F2 car got one jammed into the back of it.

If I was building a hot-rod, I might well be tempted to use a hemi-headed 2.5-litre V8 that was in production in the late sixties. It would be very different to everything around, and I think that's one of the things that hot-rods should be aiming for - a unique appearance.

Bet you can't guess which engine I mean...

Ah the Daimler, which was used in some Midget racers here, along with the BOP/Rover V-8.

[Tim Murray]

A lot of hotrods are good for straight, very smooth roads only ...

The hot rods photographed by arttidesco at Castle Combe last weekend were allowed out on track in the lunch break, to do a few very slow parade laps behind a pace car on a damp track. Three of them managed to spin in front of me, in spite of the low speeds involved. The handling of some of them did not inspire confidence ...

[arttidesco]

The hot rods photographed by arttidesco at Castle Combe last weekend were allowed out on track in the lunch break, to do a few very slow parade laps behind a pace car on a damp track. Three of them managed to spin in front of me, in spite of the low speeds involved. The handling of some of them did not inspire confidence ...

I missed that while I was out walking round the track Tim, the damp track probably did not help much.

[arttidesco]

The P76 engine was a 4.4 litre version of the Buick/Olds GM alloy V8. The big brother of the 3500 used in Range rovers and the like.
Not a great motor, particularly these days. The reason most hotrods use SBC and Ford engines is that they are readily advailable, strong and there is tons of performance gear for them. Hotrodders though do not nesecarily chase power though, it is the 'look' hence you often see big blowers and tunnel ram set up on gunker engines which whine and go grump grump with big cams and straight cut timing gear drives.

I see a few 'different' engines including Toyota V8s, 60s Buicks, The common in Oz Holden V8s as well as side valves, Y block Fords plus things like Holden 6s both straight sixes and Commodore V6 [Buick]. The ratrod scene seems to use some older stuff, sidevalves, Buick v8s, Pontiacs, Y block as well as Chevs and Windsors. The most common engine though is Chev and Ford Windsor and Clevelands [which were sold in Aussie Fords from 70 to 82]


A lot of hotrods are good for straight, very smooth roads only though others can and do handle ok using well engineered chassis and suspension set up. Not generally super sporty but will drive through the hills as well as most modern road cars and be a lot more interesting and distinctive.
Even beam axle fad buckets can drive ok. the ones that have a decent size front tyre and the front axle not bound up like some can drive ok, particularly with a decent rear suspension set up. Out on cruises I have seen very bad and quite good versions of these cars.Though I have no wish to own one! Full body rods maybe.

In Oz there is quite a few Mopar/Dodge engines from the 50s and 60s and a lot find there way into rods, particularly hemis! Mopar engines come in all designs and capacities, can be mind boggling though we had a smaller range in Australian delivered cars.

I am involved in American cruises which includes Hotrods and Harleys and there is a fair amount of Mopar muscle and heavyweights involved in those events.

Thanks for your over view of the Custom Car and Hod Rod scene in AUS Lee

Edited by arttidesco, 19 August 2010 - 09:39.

[Terry Walker]

Nice rodded A40, flames and all, with unusual ground clearance, made an appearance among spectators' cars at Wanneroo Park a couple of years ago. Wasn't until I read the badges on the bonnet that I realised it was an LJ40 or thereabouts Land Cruiser! Quicker than the A40, and no doubt more reliable.

[Lee Nicolle]

Now that is a little different. There is 4wd Toranas, Chargers, Holdens, Falcons plus numerous types of utes but one with a humble A40 body is different. I hope they painted the engine green!

[fredeuce]

Here you go, a 2.5 Daimler V8 sitting in my midget.

[GeoffR]

Ahh, the good old days when the only rule was 'with a good blowtorch you can fit anything into anything!' Some of the devices I have seen - Mk 1 Cortina with Holden 6 & narrowed Holden rear axle, Thames van with Holden 6, Morris Minor with 1600 X flow Ford engine. Also (magazine article) VL Holden Commodore with full Skyline GTR running gear.

[David Shaw]

Best shoehorn job I have seen was a Mk. 1 Cortina 220 with a Ford 460 Big Block for power.

[arttidesco]

I guess the A40 Land Cruiser is Aussie Rules Customising, top pic, thanks for sharing Terry

Reminds me of the 1950 - 58 Volvo TP21 Suggan which comprises a 1938 - 58 PV 800 series body on top of a 4 x 4 chassis, sort of factory built custom military vehicle.



Here is one I saw in Bristol last year not to sure why or how it came to have a 2008 registration number.

[Lee Nicolle]

My age shows with the stuff that I have seen and on occasion had a hand in. Minors with grey Holdens, red Holdens and B series BMC. Early Holdens with Chevs and Y block Fords, E series Vauxhall with Caddy V8. Anglias with Holdens, both 95E and 100E. A40s with Holdens and B series BMC. Austin A90 with LS7 427 Chev [12.1 with street tyres and std A90 diff! in1975] MGB with a 289 GT motor. Customline with a 351 Cleveland. MGA with XU1 power. LC LJ Toranas with 308s, Simca Arondes with Holdens. Mk1 Cortinas with 289, Mk2 Cortina with 302W.TC TD Cortinas with Windsors and Clevelands. Capris with Windsors, Sigma with Windsor, Vauxhall Viva with red motor. Holden HQ Premier with a nice healthy 427 Chev, auto aircond, powersteering. That was a very nice car, the car was nearly new and bloody quick. And still luxurious. Red Holden into Landrover, 350Chev into Landcruiser shorty. Red Holden into Honda S600, 2 litre Ford into Honda S600, 283 Chev into Honda S600! Morris 1100 into Honda Zot. Rotarys into Corrollas. 3.8 Commodore into FJ Holden. Rambler Hornets with Windsor. [good conversion] Triumph Herald with first a Vanguard, then a grey Holden, then a red Holden and ind the end a 318 Chrysler. It kept on growing humps and bumps and flares etc. as it got more mods. Some of these conversions were bloody terrible and some were very good and a lot in between. It is amazing what you can do with a gas axe and a big hammer!A few were track only cars though most were steet driven and some were truly roadworthy and registered with the mods.

And conversions I have done myself for myself or customers. 3K Corrolla into early Suzuki 4wd, 318 Valiant into Rambler Hornet. [A Ford is easier] 179 into FE Holden, 308 into LJ Torana. 350Chev into HX LE Monaro. Plus my 350 Chev into LC Torana XU1 Sports Sedan. It started off mild but ended up fairly wild and 10 seconds faster around Mallala!
Plus quite a few gearbox and rear axle swaps.
And no I do not wish to do them now. Basic servicing is my speed now!

[Lee Nicolle]

Best shoehorn job I have seen was a Mk. 1 Cortina 220 with a Ford 460 Big Block for power.

Now that is squeezy!

[arttidesco]

Sounds like you have had fun wielding you gas axe and hammer Lee, got any pics of either the good, bad or ugly ?

Not sure what a MK1 Cortina 220 is, from memory we had the MK1's in Europe as de Luxe, Super, GT, and Lotus and I stand to be corrected if I have missed any out !

[Lee Nicolle]

Mk1 Cortina 220 is Mk 1 2 door standard model which in Oz had both 1200 and 1500 non crossflow pushrod engine. We also got GTs which were all 4 doors and import Lotuses which were 2 doors with leaf spring rear suspension. With a fairly long but narrow engine bay.Plus GT500s which were a Bathurst Special with big tank and slightly tidied up 1500 pushrod.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 19 August 2010 - 13:27.

[helioseism]

My candidate for "most beautiful custom in the world"

[arttidesco]

Mk1 Cortina 220 is Mk 1 2 door standard model which in Oz had both 1200 and 1500 non crossflow pushrod engine. We also got GTs which were all 4 doors and import Lotuses which were 2 doors with leaf spring rear suspension. With a fairly long but narrow engine bay.Plus GT500s which were a Bathurst Special with big tank and slightly tidied up 1500 pushrod.

Thanks Lee I believe your 220 sounds like 'our' de luxe and Super models maybe a TNF Ford Cortina expert will chip in and correct me if I am wrong :-)

[Terry Walker]

An amazingly neat shoehorn job is a Ford V8 Windsor into an Alfa Romeo GTV, the elegant Bert One shape from the late 60s-into 70s. The only one I've seen was for racing, built in Queensland and finished up here in Western Australia. The small-block Ford is amazingly small.



At one stage I thought of tossing a small V8 into a Morris Minor, and was thinking of the Ford V8 60 or the French Vedette version. Wouldn't have worked. Most outrageous shoehorn, again a racing car, was 5 litre V8 into the back of a Goggomobile Coupe. From 360 cc to 5,000cc in one swoop. You can imagine how it handled with swing rear axles.

Edited by Terry Walker, 19 August 2010 - 14:29.

[garyfrogeye]

Best shoehorn job I have seen was a Mk. 1 Cortina 220 with a Ford 460 Big Block for power.

How about this for shoehorning, my friend Stuart's V8 Mg midget with Sierra cosworth 4 x 4 running gear. Yep that's 4wd plus big bored out V8 all squeezed into a space framed MG Midget. It's a work of art.

www.flickr.com/photos/albertsbite/2414091931/

[D-Type]

Ford South Africa built the Ford Paranha (?) which was a Capri with a V8 (presumably the 289 rather than the 427) then there was the Willment Savage - a Cortina with a Zephyr V6 (I think).

I have also read an article about a Porsche 912 fitted with a 239 ci Chev V8 fitted. Yes 239ci - it was a 327 de-stroked to 2.375in stroke.

[arttidesco]

Ford South Africa built the Ford Paranha (?) which was a Capri with a V8 (presumably the 289 rather than the 427) then there was the Willment Savage - a Cortina with a Zephyr V6 (I think).

I have also read an article about a Porsche 912 fitted with a 239 ci Chev V8 fitted. Yes 239ci - it was a 327 de-stroked to 2.375in stroke.

More on the worlds only production 302 cui V8 Capri Perana here

[arttidesco]

My candidate for "most beautiful custom in the world"

Absolute candidate but what is it ?

[David Shaw]

'37 Ford

[Simpson RX1]

Ford South Africa built the Ford Paranha (?) which was a Capri with a V8 (presumably the 289 rather than the 427) then there was the Willment Savage - a Cortina with a Zephyr V6 (I think).
I have also read an article about a Porsche 912 fitted with a 239 ci Chev V8 fitted. Yes 239ci - it was a 327 de-stroked to 2.375in stroke.

Not so much "Willment" as "Race Proved", AKA Jeff Uren; he did a nice line in big engined Fords (often with their approval and assistance) including the 2.0 Escort 'Navajo', the 3.0 Capri 'Comanche' (with a choice of bhp, up to 220) the V6 Escort 'Apache' and the 4.7 (289ci) V8 Capri 'Stampede'.

Crayford also did a few 3.0 Capris (pre factory offerings) as well as their more well known rag top conversions.

As a correction to one of my earlier posts, it was Classic and Sports Car that launched in 1981 (I've got about 15 years worth of those too) Street Machine appeared in either 78 or 79, with the first cover car being the blown V8 Consul MKII, "Henry Hi Rise", built by Stu Vallance at Slick Tricks, who were based just down the road from me.

[arttidesco]

'37 Ford

Thanks David